Eerie Upbeat: Musical Irony and "Fly Me To The Moon" - Frank Sinatra - Speed Irony, Mental Chronometry and Music Determinism

WIKIPEDIA.ORG, the PEOPLE'S FREE ENCYCLOPEDIA INFORMS:

"Fly Me to the Moon" is a pop standard song written in 1954 by Bart Howard. When introduced by Felicia Sanders on the cabaret circuit, it was originally titled "In Other Words". The song became popularly called "Fly Me to the Moon" from its first line, but it took a few years for the publishers to change the title officially.
It was first recorded in 1954 by Kaye Ballard (of the television show The Mothers-in-Law).

Frank Sinatra recorded the song in 1964 on his It Might as Well Be Swing collaboration with Count Basie, and this became the rendition that many people identified the song with."

As the Meanspeed summary below indicates, the speed of the song come in the meanspeed music theory category, "mean emotion," of FOREBODING. When we think of the song today, sure, we here the old time, feel-good swing. The Good 'Ol Days were here - though at the time we did not realize how relatively sweet the Cold War years would be compared to ours. You think about it, the title, Frank Sinatra, and you say, "How can this be a song that emotes Foreboding?" Listen closely. Something a little different there, am I wrong? As Frank's Witchcraft: the love song with that ripple of uncertain unease waving through it - pardon the metaphor, please. This element - the mix of happier elements elements of the song with its inherently dark speed leads to what meanspeed theory calls speed irony. Musical irony of this type is defined by the manner in which the tempo sounds "upbeat" - what people generally associate with happy, when lowered by 3 percent - becomes an "eerie upbeat."

This is what I talk about when I use terms like musical determinism - a idea that is based in neurological determinism: despite the sweet Frank delivery, the beatific orchestral playing, the smooth as silk swing rhythm, the mean speed pf 117.5 beats per minute simple determines that which is emoted. That is not to say it dictates that which is emoted - speed is one of many elements of music communication. That said, of the elements of music that are not well understood, none has been more of a mystery than the effects of the change of only a small fraction of tempo or speed in a song. Thanks to quartz and digital technology in recording and calibrating, and people as myself who love to wake up at 3:37 A.M. to research new ideas in this area of music psychology. This area, now known as the "emotions of mental chronometry" - a concept many would not believe to be testable much less one worthy of debate. After all, how can a sound sequence itself expose emotions? I hear you out there. Take a look at the lists as '114-118 - Foreboding' provided on these pages. A "think again" will not be necessary! Don't get hooked, even on a theory though Speed is addictive. Look at me on Saturday at 4 AM- better yet, like my wife, enjoy the fact that I'm not laying there with ya!

Meanspeed Summary
song="Fly Me To The Moon"
performer=Frank Sinatra
beats measured=2,176
beats per trial=272
time elapsed=1,389.16 seconds
mean time per trial=138.92 seconds
mean speed=117.49 beats per minute
average beat=511 milliseconds
mean emotion according to Meanspeed Music Theory=foreboding

Ian Schneider

November 24, 2007

charts by James Manning, Ian Schneider. © 2007 Meanspeed Music.